Anthony Griffith

Doncaster Rovers Griffith signed with Doncaster Rovers in 2005. However, he never made it as a regular first-team player at "Donny" and was instead loaned out to four lower league clubs over two years. On 21 March 2006, he joined Oxford United on a month-long loan. However, he never made it onto the pitch for the League Two side.

On 23 November 2007, he joined Darlington, again of League Two, on another one month. He made four appearances for the club. He then spent three months with Conference club Stafford Rangers from 26 January 2007, making a total of twenty appearances. Despite only featuring in the first two rounds of the competition, he received a Football League Trophy winners medal after Doncaster won the 2007 final. He then spent the entire 2007–08 season on loan at Halifax Town. He made close to forty appearances before returning to Doncaster, where he was subsequently released. Speaking after Griffith was sent off for the third time during his loan spell, Halifax manager Chris Wilder said: "We were looking to take him permanently but I won't be now".

Port Vale Griffith was signed by Port Vale manager Lee Sinnott in April 2008. He spent much of the 2008–09 season at right-back under new manager Dean Glover. For the 2009–10 season, new manager Micky Adams elected to return Griffith to the role of 'midfield enforcer'. He remained in the first-team however, and was playing in the form of his life under Adams, striking up a midfield pairing with Tommy Fraser, who he also shared a house with. His committed performances made him "a darling of the terraces", though he also picked up 14 yellow cards throughout the season. At the end of the season he was offered a two-year contract, and was given the Player of the Year award. He duly signed the contract.

On 28 August 2010, Griffith scored from at Vale Park past Torquay United's Scott Bevan in a 2–1 reverse. The goal would prove to be more important to Griffith himself and the Torquay opposition than to his club, the fine strike his first in the Football League, and his first in Port Vale colours. It also ended the Gulls' run without conceding a league goal at the 998-minute mark, a club record but not a Football League record. He started the season strongly, forming a solid midfield partnership with Gary Roberts. Despite losing his place to Doug Loft following an injury that kept him sidelined for a month, he returned to post 45 appearances in 2010–11.

He retained his first-team place at the start of the 2011–12 campaign and refused to put his international career ahead of his club career. On 14 October, he marked his 150th appearance for the "Valiants" with his second Football League goal – a 35-yard strike past Northampton Town. His good form caused assistant manager Mark Grew to worry that other clubs at a higher level might wish to sign him. He was named in the League Two Team of the Week for his performance in the 1–0 win over Rotherham United at the Don Valley Stadium on 21 January. At the end of the season, the club's female support voted him "Mr Shirt of the Back", breaking Louis Dodds' three-year run. He played 47 of Vale's 50 games, having been denied the chance to become an ever-present due to suspensions resulting from his eleven bookings.

Leyton Orient In May 2012, out-of-contract Griffith was reported to have been a target for Leyton Orient, Shrewsbury Town, Northampton Town and Bradford City; he was also offered an improved contract at Port Vale. He proved unable to turn down the offer of League One football, and quickly signed a two-year deal with Leyton Orient. Manager Russell Slade signed Griffith as a replacement for departing captain Stephen Dawson, and reportedly doubled his wages to tempt him down south to Brisbane Road.

Return to Port Vale He returned to Port Vale on loan in March 2013 until the end of the 2012–13 season. After a slow start, he soon returned to top form. He won plaudits and man of the match awards for his performances. He made ten appearances during his loan spell, helping the club to win promotion into League One with a third-place finish in League Two. He re-joined Port Vale permanently in July 2013, signing a one-year contract. He went on to build an impressive partnership in midfield with Chris Lines in the 2013–14 season; Griffith providing the tough-tackling and Lines providing the creative playmaking. Despite making 45 appearances across the season he was not offered a new contract in the summer. In summer 2014 Griffith had a trial with League Two club Mansfield Town. He later returned to Vale Park to train, with coach Mark Grew saying "The manager is always ready to help someone like Griff who has been such a good servant to the club." He was voted onto Port Vale's team of the 2010s by readers of The Sentinel, alongside Doug Loft, in February 2020.

Later career Griffith joined Harrogate Town in the Conference North on 22 August 2014. He played one match, against Barrow, but left after just five days at the club when it emerged he had a clause in his contract allowing him to move back into full-time football should a league club make an approach, which had been invoked by Shrewsbury Town. On 27 August 2014, Griffith signed for League Two club Shrewsbury Town on a one-year contract, citing manager Micky Mellon as a major reason for his decision to join the club. Described as "being popular in the dressing room", he became a fringe players, making only six first-team appearances for the "Shrews". In January 2015, Griffith signed an 18-month contract with League Two side Carlisle United. He helped the "Cumbrians" to avoid relegation out of the Football League at the end of the 2014–15 season, making 11 appearances either side of his international commitments which manager Keith Curle kept a secret from the media to avoid tipping off opposition teams as to Griffith's absence. He was transfer listed by Curle in May 2015, and released from his contract two months later.

In July 2015, Griffith signed a one-year deal with National League side Altrincham in a move that reunited him with his former Vale boss Lee Sinnott. He played one game for the "Robins" before retiring due to a hip injury in September 2015. He returned to football in September 2016 after signing for Northern Premier League Division One North side Glossop North End. He was voted as the club's Player of the Month for November 2016 by supporters. He signed with divisional rivals Trafford in March 2017, who ended the 2016–17 campaign in sixth-place, two points outside the play-offs. Griffith signed with Northern Premier League Division One North club Colwyn Bay as a player-coach in May 2017. Six months later he joined North West Counties League Premier Division side Congleton Town. He made 19 appearances for the "Bears" in the second half of the 2017–18 campaign. He featured 45 times during the 2018–19 season, helping Congleton to a third-place finish. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2019–20 season was formally abandoned on 26 March, with all results from the season being expunged.

International career Griffith was raised in the Brackenhall area of Huddersfield, He received his international call-up in June 2011 to compete in the nation's World Cup qualifying campaign, He was also appointed as team captain. Most of his teammates were amateur players. Before his call-up Montserrat had recorded only two victories in their 25-game history, both coming against Anguilla in 1995. His debut came against Belize, who beat Montserrat 5–2 at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago on 15 June. The second leg was postponed over FIFA's concerns with the Belize government, leaving the possibility of a bye for Montserrat. However, the match was rescheduled, and Belize progressed with a 3–1 win (8–3 on aggregate).

Coaching career In September 2018, Griffith began coaching the under-14s at the Port Vale Academy. He was also appointed as first-team coach at Congleton Town two months later. On 7 November 2019, he was appointed as Congleton Town's joint-manager, alongside Phil Hadland. The duo were replaced by Ryan Austin on 29 April 2020, with Griffith remaining as a player-coach. He was appointed as a professional development phase lead coach at Port Vale in October 2020. Interim manager Danny Pugh had to start self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 on 18 January 2021, leaving Griffith, Frank Sinclair and Billy Paynter to take over first-team duties in his absence. He was appointed as assistant manager to Richard Duffy at Congleton Town, who were crowned Midland League Premier Division champions at the end of the 2023–24 season. He began training to be a referee in September 2024.

Style of play Griffith was usually a popular player with fans due to his 'tigerish displays'. However, this also left him with a poor disciplinary record. He was best suited to the right-back or midfield position. He struggled with his inconsistent and at times inaccurate distribution skills, though he had a decent passing range. He was praised for his tremendous work ethic by Port Vale's assistant manager Mark Grew. He admitted to not training very well, saying that this was due to him putting so much work into his performances in matches every week.

"Griff is tenacious, he likes a tackle and he's got a great engine. Certainly, with Griff, we know he's going to give us 100 per cent effort, he's going to win his tackles and get around the pitch – I like that."|Port Vale boss Micky Adams explains the appeal of having Griffith in the first XI.

Personal life Griffith has a daughter, Mya Rose Griffith, born in early 2011. He is a cousin of Grenadian international striker Delroy Facey, He also has a lot of relatives in Jamaica.

Career statistics Club statistics

Honours Doncaster Rovers Football League Trophy: 2006–07

Individual Port Vale Player of the Year: 2009–10